Should I do 9' or 10' walls in a shop?

[Keith Carlson]

Regarding DC plumbing, consider building a raised wood floor and run DC piping under that. I've seen that on a couple of websites and it looks like a very cool idea. What you lose by having a higher floor, you'd gain back by more clearance above, and you can run pipes under the floor to machines in the middle of the room without them being in the way as they would if dropped from the ceiling.

DC and electrical could go under the floor. Plus, that wood floor is going to have more give and be more comfortable over long shop sessions.

Of course, I speak from no experience with this (working in my 7' ceiling, concrete floor basement), but if I was building a shop from scratch, I'd probably want to work this idea in.

Good luck. And don't forget to leave bench space for cleaning skate bearings!

[Brian Elfert]

Someone suggested doing concrete block for the first 2 feet with an 8 foot wall on top and I'm going to look into that. It may be less expensive than extending a stick built wall to 10'.

I guess it will be better to spend $1000 now than regret it for 20 or 30 years.

Brian Elfert

[B a r r y]

You could always simply build it over a basement, if basements work in your locale.

The heating & cooling mechanicals, DC & pipes, compressor, wiring, etc... would be simple to install or change. All lesser-used stuff could easily be stored below.

[Brian Elfert]

My original plan had a basement. I realized a basement would add way too much to the cost. The basement could be up to $20k or more.

My entire budget for this project is $30 to $35k.

Brian Elfert

[Brian Elfert]

My original plan actually called for a full 10" wood floor over the concrete. I needed to reduce the cost so I dropped back to plywood over treated 2x4 sleepers.

I doubt I would regret not having the full floor in the long run.

Brian Elfert

[toolguy]

I have 10' ceilings in my garage.... errr, shop. I love it. I know I'd be whacking the ceiling a ton if they were 9'. As well, if I were building a dedicated shop I would do the framed floor as someone else here suggested. Run all your DC and wiring below the floor. There are so many advantages to this:

1. Unbelievably easier on your joints and back. My floor is concrete and it's a killer. I have 25 of those 3'x3' rubber mats and my back still gets very sore.
2. Your shop will be much cleaner looking and you won't have pipes to bang material into. I know about this!
3. Your DC system will work much better. The piping won't have to run from the floor to the ceiling and back down again. This is a big deal in the DC world.

If you're set on a concrete floor with no subfloor then plumb your DC and wiring right into the concrete. I've seen this done and it's fantastic. You just don't get the benefit of the wood floor being easier on your body. The only catch is you need to plan your shop and tool placements very well. It will be a lot tougher to move your TS to the other side of the shop afterwards.

Neil

[jw]

Have you consider ICF instead of stick built? I went that route, and

16' sidewalls. W/ a 16 sidewall you can put in a lofted area and add a lot to your useable square footage.

Just a consideration. Given your suggested budget, this is a possibility. I built mine in the neighborhood of your budget. But this will vary based on location and other variables.

JW

[Jay Pique]

Check out the new issue of Fine Homebuilding for some good information on energy efficient stickframing.

JP

***************** Stuck.

[DamnYankee]

Brian,

I have 9 1/2 ft ceilings in basement / wood shop. This height is plenty high enough for me. I also have radiant floor heat which is absolutely wonderful! The only thing I would have done different if I could do it over again would be to my a floor plan for my shop and put the dust collection pipes in the floor.

Bryan

Brian Elfert wrote:

[Brian Elfert]

With pipes in the floor, how do you handle things like planers that collect from the top? Elbows?

Brian Elfert

[Brian Elfert]

I plan to use basically everything from the Fine Homebuilding article except the foamboard sheathimg. Plywood only costs $5 a sheet more and eliminates the issues of shear strength and hanging siding.

Brian Elfert

[Ba r r y]

Exactly.

A straight pipe from the floor goes into a gentle arc, and short section of flex pipe.